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Nearly a month has gone by since we moved into our little brick cottage and within this short time I’ve had a lot of different thoughts and feelings about this house as a home. From the very beginning Josh and I looked at this building as a temporary stop. I mean, surely we didn’t think that we’ll actually be able to raise three children all the way from elementary through high school in 1200 square feet with one bathroom. The very reason we chose such a small home was for the potential to easily rent it out once we’re ready to move on. We figured that a small 3/1 home would appeal to a broader range of renters (singles, couples, couples + 1 or 2 children, elderly, etc) than a larger home would. I was so eager to not see this as our forever home that I even asked our realtor how much she thought we could list it for on the first day we walked through.

But a funny thing has started happening as we fix up this little place and make it our (even if it is temporary) home. I’ve started to love it here. When I look around, even though there are some things that I wish were different, I see so many more things that I’ve always wanted in my forever home. It’s got me thinking that maybe we could stay here for the long haul…

For One – Living in a small house means living with small expenses. Honestly, we live in this house for less than $750 a month, utilities included. To me, this means that we are free to do whatever we want. I’m no longer worried about Josh finding a livable job after the Coast Guard because livable here is pretty easy. It means that we can travel more. Save more. Put more money towards making what little bit of square footage we do have, exactly how we want it. It gives me a feeling of freedom, really.

Two – There’s less to clean. The house we rented in Texas was 2400 square feet and I hated every single inch of it once it came time to clean. Actually, that was all the time because I could barely keep up. A living room, 2 dining rooms, a kitchen, 4 bedrooms, a loft, 2.5 bathrooms, an entry way, and giant hallways was just too much. We didn’t use half of it but all of it needed dusted. I relish the fact that this house is less than half of that Texas house because it means I spend less than half of the time cleaning it.

Three – There’s less to decorate. Don’t get me wrong, I love decorating but it’s nice to feel like I have everything I need. We actually even had to purge some things in order to fit into this house but less things, is always good.

Four – We’re around each other more. I know this may actually become an issue for privacy’s sake as the kids get older (although, “sure you can have your girlfriend over and we’ll all sit right here and hang out together in the only living room we have” sounds nice too) but right now it’s perfect. I’ve noticed that we all watch much less television because we only have one living space that we must share. Also, for me personally, I feel like I’m more attentive to each kid. Not to say I wasn’t before but with only 1200 square feet to move about, I always know exactly where and what everyone is doing/discussing. It’s nice.

I think it’s common to think that you need more than what you actually do. Really, I think it’s common to think that you want more than you actually do so I’m happy to say that for now, I feel content. 🙂

PS – WordPress has apparently changed its photo options so I no longer know how to decrease the size of photos. Sorry if you have to scroll just to view a full picture!